Household Septic System

[jlgurr]

Somewhere in your basement walls, there has to be a drain line coming down from the upstairs plumbing that connects to the waste line to the septic.

Logically--again --it should line-up with an upstairs toilet.

The upstairs bathroom is above the bottom but the upstairs toilet is on the wall facing away from the photos and likely drains down that wall as the floor joists run parallel to the leach field. That's an interesting point too. Would there, could there be more than one line to the septic tank or might the upstairs toilet drain connect under the basement floor with the basement toilet.

Man, where are those x-ray glasses when you need them?

My OCD is going to start getting the best of me here pretty soon. LOL!

 

[dave1949]

The upstairs bathroom is above the bottom but the upstairs toilet is on the wall facing away from the photos and likely drains down that wall as the floor joists run parallel to the leach field. That's an interesting point too. Would there, could there be more than one line to the septic tank or might the upstairs toilet drain connect under the basement floor with the basement toilet.

Man, where are those x-ray glasses when you need them?

My OCD is going to start getting the best of me here pretty soon. LOL!

I guess anything is possible. There could be a buried clean-out in the septic line outside the house too.

Just as an example, my house has two drain pipes about 30' apart coming out from under the slab that feed into a common line going to the septic tank.

It's a mystery but I'm sure you will crack it eventually. It's really good you are doing it now with no pressure.

 

[Wagtail]

OP here. Two photos of my suspected tank location. In photo1 you can see the basement wall and heat pump. Coming directly perpendicular from that wall and about 4 feet from the corner of the house you see a flat rock in the lawn. That flat rock marks 15 feet which is what the health department sketch says the tank is from the house.

In photo2 you will see the flat rock still, in the right. Now looking parallel to the house you will be looking across the tank and into the drain field. The flat rock marks the right side of the tank so it will be extending into the lawn however wide it is from that rock. The drain field extends straight back in the photo to the tree that appears to be above the tarp on the ground. It's all very flat and probably not more than six inches difference from the rock to the end of the field. Honestly, I can't see much of any kind of witness marks. At the flat rock I poked a probe 18" deep every 12 inches in a 10' square there. The ground is hard clay and I gave up after my arms turned to rubber.

View attachment 417526View attachment 417527

That's interesting. In the second photo, is there a known reason why there is no growth 'away from' the rock marker? Could it be residual clay/soil from the initial hole dug for the tank? I say this because I have a similar patch of soil where little to nothing grows beside my tank (to the left in this photo):

 

[jlgurr]

That's interesting. In the second photo, is there a known reason why there is no growth 'away from' the rock marker? Could it be residual clay/soil from the initial hole dug for the tank? I say this because I have a similar patch of soil where little to nothing grows beside my tank (to the left in this photo):

Can't get any kind of grass to grow there. Not real good grass anywhere here due to all the trees but this area has always been more problematic.

There might be a good place to probe. Didn't occur to me that maybe it was installed further into the direction of the leach field. If there was a tree (the old stump this side of the flat rock) in their way they might have moved the location of the tank after the sketch was made??? I'll probe up in that direction and see what happens... stay tuned....

 

[doxford jim]

That's interesting. In the second photo, is there a known reason why there is no growth 'away from' the rock marker? Could it be residual clay/soil from the initial hole dug for the tank? I say this because I have a similar patch of soil where little to nothing grows beside my tank (to the left in this photo):

Just a thought - have you put any lime down on the bare area ? If the soil is acidic it might prevent the grass from growing well or from growing at all. For what it costs a few bags of lime won't do any harm at all.
I know one house I had, had a lot of coniferous trees (pine etc.) and the grass wouldn't grow too well. I put down lots of lime to neutralise the soil (acidic) and it made a big difference.

 

[PILOON]

Gotta say, this is the crap-iest discussion yet on TBN!

 

[GPintheMitten]

All I know is when I sold my property they told me I had to take all my crap with me.

 

[Wagtail]

Just a thought - have you put any lime down on the bare area ? If the soil is acidic it might prevent the grass from growing well or from growing at all. For what it costs a few bags of lime won't do any harm at all.
I know one house I had, had a lot of coniferous trees (pine etc.) and the grass wouldn't grow too well. I put down lots of lime to neutralise the soil (acidic) and it made a big difference.

Thanks for that suggestion and it's worth a shot, Mate. Ta. I limed the property almost two years ago (2 tonnes per acre) but this area may take a wee bit of specific attention.

 

[ddbackhoe]

Can't get any kind of grass to grow there. Not real good grass anywhere here due to all the trees but this area has always been more problematic.

There might be a good place to probe. Didn't occur to me that maybe it was installed further into the direction of the leach field. If there was a tree (the old stump this side of the flat rock) in their way they might have moved the location of the tank after the sketch was made??? I'll probe up in that direction and see what happens... stay tuned....

Way too many times the sketch and install do not match. Even stamped/engineered designs can be installed with an error margin of feet. It's just poo and as long as the install is done correctly, the where isn't as important. I.E., "hey there's a tree here, Ok let's move over ten feet to save the tree". Once the sketch/design is turned in, I've never had a health dept. person check the site vs. design. They check tanks, lines and grades, but never location.

 

[ddbackhoe]

All I know is when I sold my property they told me I had to take all my crap with me.

:laughing: some people are just more picky than others

 

[Billrog]

I've never tried it but maybe an infrared heat gun could give an indication of where the tank is since the ground will be warmer there. Just a thought and the guns are cheap.
I'm not sure how others do it but I not only do detailed drawings but I also take pics. every step of the way and give the owners a DVD or CD with the pics. on them. Here's one example a a pic.

With the clean out side the building it is always excess able.

 

[JRobyn]

Is this the proper way to hold divining rods, or it there another youtube that shows it better?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W95J85E7DNU

That "hold" looks like it would work fine and is probably more "advanced" than really needed. His rods have ball ends that seem to make his "loose" grip easier. I just fully grip my plain bent ends like a gun butt.

- Jay

 

[vtsnowedin]

I've never tried it but maybe an infrared heat gun could give an indication of where the tank is since the ground will be warmer there. Just a thought and the guns are cheap.
I'm not sure how others do it but I not only do detailed drawings but I also take pics. every step of the way and give the owners a DVD or CD with the pics. on them. Here's one example a a pic.
View attachment 417803
With the clean out side the building it is always excess able.

You snake has to turn three times before you get five feet. great idea but you could have improved on it.

 

[MossRoad]

OP here. Two photos of my suspected tank location. In photo1 you can see the basement wall and heat pump. Coming directly perpendicular from that wall and about 4 feet from the corner of the house you see a flat rock in the lawn. That flat rock marks 15 feet which is what the health department sketch says the tank is from the house.

In photo2 you will see the flat rock still, in the right. Now looking parallel to the house you will be looking across the tank and into the drain field. The flat rock marks the right side of the tank so it will be extending into the lawn however wide it is from that rock. The drain field extends straight back in the photo to the tree that appears to be above the tarp on the ground. It's all very flat and probably not more than six inches difference from the rock to the end of the field. Honestly, I can't see much of any kind of witness marks. At the flat rock I poked a probe 18" deep every 12 inches in a 10' square there. The ground is hard clay and I gave up after my arms turned to rubber.

View attachment 417526View attachment 417527

From your description, it would make sense if the tank is here.
Get a probe or post hole digger and dig down at the yellow X at least 4' to be sure.

 

[GPintheMitten]

From your description, it would make sense if the tank is here.
Get a probe or post hole digger and dig down at the yellow X at least 4' to be sure.
View attachment 417904

Good eyes Moss. That looks to be a likely spot. Also, toward the forground, from the yellow x, in the bare spot, could be another lid.

 

[jlgurr]

Good eyes Moss. That looks to be a likely spot. Also, toward the forground, from the yellow x, in the bare spot, could be another lid.

I didn't get to 48" but at 42" in each of these two holes there is just dirt. Not even a hint of a tank or leach field in either hole. :-( The second hole went in the wrong direction. Will dig in the "other" foreground this afternoon. The new junk in the picture is my other priority for three days while the HVAC contractors are here.

 

[jlgurr]

Found the sketch from the health department...

 

[dave1949]

Until the snow gets fairly deep, I can see the outline of my septic tank because the heat melts the snow above it. My tank about 18" deep.

If you never see something like that, your tank may be quite deep or in continual shade maybe? The mossy ground cover looks like shaded ground.

What is the approx. height from grade level outside and the surface of your basement floor? If you add 10-12 inches to that, plus another foot maybe for slope to the tank + tank wall thickness, it might get you close to the tank depth.

 

[ddbackhoe]

I've never tried it but maybe an infrared heat gun could give an indication of where the tank is since the ground will be warmer there. Just a thought and the guns are cheap.
I'm not sure how others do it but I not only do detailed drawings but I also take pics. every step of the way and give the owners a DVD or CD with the pics. on them. Here's one example a a pic.
View attachment 417803
With the clean out side the building it is always excess able.

Poured concrete foundation, the access has to be 3 times the diameter of the pipe (4" pvc =12" hole) nothing else can run through that access. Cleanout goes to finished grade, 3 feet out from residence. pea gravel is the only acceptable fill for tank (sides and bottom) and piping (cover 1 foot). If I set a two tank pump up/out system, I can lay the electric and alarm cables in the same trench.

 

[jlgurr]

Until the snow gets fairly deep, I can see the outline of my septic tank because the heat melts the snow above it. My tank about 18" deep.

If you never see something like that, your tank may be quite deep or in continual shade maybe? The mossy ground cover looks like shaded ground.

What is the approx. height from grade level outside and the surface of your basement floor? If you add 10-12 inches to that, plus another foot maybe for slope to the tank + tank wall thickness, it might get you close to the tank depth.

My wife's iPad will take thermal images, maybe not real accurate though. I'll give it a try after the sun goes down tonight since there was enough sun on it today that it all was warm and you could only see the shadows as cooler places.

The ground in my pictures is the same height as the basement floor so I am guessing that the tank lid shouldn't be more than a foot or two at the most below the surface.

On a side note, if we ever had 18" of snow I think everyone here would fall over dead. I have not seen that much snow since moving away from Michigan.